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In 20,000 Leagues Under the Street, as a man who hates bugs, Peter is horrified when an ant farm arrives in the mail for Ray. Peter's phobia is put to the test when he is taken captive by the spirit of the long-dead Egyptian Insect God, Apshai, and his horde of giant insect slaves.[2]

Peter ran through a forest filled with fog. A large ant monster confronted Peter. Peter fired but the Proton Stream had no effect on it. It sliced the cord connecting Peter's Particle Thrower to his Proton Pack and left him defenseless. Peter backed over to the edge of cliff and climbed onto a tree as the monster drew closer to him. Then Peter fell off his chair in his office and woke up. Ray ran past Peter to answer the front door. Egon and Slimer were curious what the package was. Peter hoped in vain it was a back massager. It was an ant farm. Peter was less than pleased and declared the world would be better off without bugs.

At the Museum of Natural History, the monster from Peter's dream was on a stone tablet being looked at by Winston and Janine. Janine read the display out loud, revealing it was named Aphsai, the Egyptian god of insects. Winston was clearly bored. They joined a crowd that formed around the exhibit curator. The curator lectured about Apshai. He was reputed to have ruled Egypt from an unusual temple until he was driven out by the Egyptians who no longer worshiped him. Apshai and his followers took along this temple's Crystal Capstone, the alleged source of his powers, and they were never seen again. The curator presented the one relic of Apshai recovered, a gold scarab. As soon as the curator opened the scarab, an earthquake rocked Manhattan. Deep, deep down below, the Crystal Capstone lay on a boat and glowed. A mandible suddenly emerged from the capstone.

Back at the Firehouse, Peter was almost finished with a making a stack of cards when the earthquake it. Upstairs in his lab, Egon frantically ran around saving his collection of spores, mold, and fungi. Ray tried to get him to take cover instead but the earthquake stopped. They headed downstairs and Peter emerged from under his desk wondering who was sticking gum there. Ray's ant farm was broken and the ants were filing out. An unusual number of bugs joined the rather organized march out of the Firehouse. Egon sensed something was wrong since bugs are usually agitated before an earthquake, not after. Slimer motioned the guys to look outside with him. There was an extremely large procession of bugs heading down the street. In Central Park, museum goers looked on as Enlarged Insects emerged from the cracks in the ground.

Ray and Egon flew off in Ecto-2 while Peter and Slimer drove off in Ecto-1. As Ecto-1 narrowly dodged a gas leak, Egon and Ray approached Central Park. Egon detected a sudden surge in ectoplasmic readings and suggested an aerial sweep before landing. However, a giant dragonfly attacked them. Ecto-2 crashed into a pond. The Ghostbusters, Slimer, and Janine met up at Ecto-1 and suited up. While performing reconnaissance, it became clear the bugs were building something. Egon insisted they weren't real bugs and were actually ethereal facsimiles. Peter stormed off to get the Ghost Traps out of Ecto-1 but came upon several beetles stripping it! Peter blasted one and it shrank into a normal bug. He was then ambushed by giant spiders, webbed up, and carried away. Slimer tried to save Peter but he was tossed into a tree and disrupted a bird nest. As the others watched Peter being taken underground, Egon realized the bugs were ethereal enlargements under some behavior control not carbon copies. Slimer followed after Peter and avoided a sentry bug. The bugs above eventually ignored the Ghostbusters and continued building.

Egon came up with a new plan and declared they needed a fire pumper and 4000 gallons of honey. Winston wondered how they could tell when Egon went nuts. The spiders brought Peter to the Crystal Capstone and Apshai. He announced Peter was chosen to be his sacrifice. The others manned a fire pump and blasted out some honey. The bugs took the bait and started feasting on the honey. The Ghostbusters marched for one of the fissures and climbed down. Janine saved Winston from a bug at the last minute. Down below, Apshai went on a rant and declared the humans ruled the world long enough. The bugs would rise up and destroy humanity - termites would destroy buildings, locust would destroy crops, and mosquitoes and bees would bite and sting humans. Peter heard enough and tried to leave but some bugs carried him away. Elsewhere, Egon tried to get a fix on his P.K.E. Meter as Ray and Winston blasted at bugs swarming at them. Up above, Janine observed the structure being built and realized it was a representation of the Temple of Apshai. She tried to radio Egon but they were out of range.

The guys found the cave where Apshai held Peter and charged in. They fell off a ledge and the cave was empty. Slimer found them and frantically pointed to a path. A procession of bugs made its way up to the surface. Apshai gloated that once the capstone was placed on the pyramid and powered by the Sun, he could be invincible. Janine hid behind a tree and blasted the bug carrying Peter. She tossed him a Proton Pack and they attacked Apshai. It was too late though, the capstone was placed atop the pyramid. Apshai grew in size and returned fire. The others joined Janine and Peter and opened fire on Apshai. Janine directed them to the capstone instead. Once the capstone was destroyed, Apshai turned to sand and faded away. The bugs returned to normal, the temple collapsed, and the fissures closed up. Egon and Ray mused the world still needed bugs as a monarch butterfly landed on Peter's nose.

↑Janine Melnitz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "20,000 Leagues Under the Street" (1991) (DVD ts. 03:07-03:12). Time Life Entertainment. Janine says: "Well, not in this lifetime. But in a past life, I was Cleopatra, you know."